'Clunkers' Reimbursement Process to Be Fast-Tracked, Congressman Says

Administrators of the popular Cash for Clunkers program are planning to fast-track the approval process for dealer reimbursements following complaints that thousands of requests were being delayed or rejected, a congressman said Monday.

Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa., who over the weekend wrote a letter to President Obama detailing those concerns, released a statement saying the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration told him it will start a new approval process to reduce the average processing time for reimbursements.

The office said that by hiring more staff and contractors to deal with the backlog, processing time could be reduced to five days on average. According to The Associated Press, the Transportation Department wants to have 1,100 workers processing claims by the end of the week.

Under the Clunkers program, passenger car owners are eligible for a voucher worth between $3,500 and $4,500 if they trade in their gas guzzlers for new, fuel-efficient vehicles. According to sales data summarized by Transportation Department officials, dealers have submitted requests for rebates on 338,659 vehicles sold.

But the Department of Transportation said a staff of just 225 people was reviewing the dealer claims, even after Congress expanded the $1 billion program by $2 billion.

Sestak claimed over the weekend that the federal government had reimbursed auto dealers for only 2 percent of the claims, while four of every five applications had been "rejected for minor oversight."

The congressman, who is challenging Sen. Arlen Specter in his state's Senate primary, wrote that auto dealers contacted him to express their concern and ask for help.